Decreased glutathione (GSH) availability in the brain is linked to several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease. Means of restoring GSH levels include delivery of GSH precursors, e.g. N-acetyl cysteine, N-acetyl cysteine amide (NACA) or cysteine to the brain. However, directly administered, these GSH precursors have limited therapeutic usefulness because of their limited bioavailability. The preparation of N-acetyl cysteine amide (NACA) has been previously described in J. Med. Chem. 1967, 10, 1172-1176.
There is a need for developing an efficient method for the effective, large scale synthesis of N-acetyl cysteine amide that provides the product in high chemical yields and high chemical and enantiomeric purity.